“Linares is bigger than him. Lomachenko doesn’t really have power from what I’ve seen and felt. When he puts them together you can feel them but they’re not really scary.

“Linares has some pop so I don’t know – it could be going either way depending on how Linares’ conditioning holds up through the later rounds and if he can stick to the gameplan and not get worn out mentally.

“Then I would give it to Linares but if he does [get worn out] then I would obviously give it to Lomachenko based on experience.”

Lomachenko has left a path a destruction since entering the paid code on the back of one of the best amateur careers ever seen, although is moving up yet another weight class after turning pro in the featherweight division.

As with his recent bout against Guillermo Rigondeaux, skills go out the window when the weight is a step too far and Linares will be banking on this when the pair begin trading blows in the spring.

Recent wins over Anthony Crolla and Luke Campbell have Linares in great form to face one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet, although most still favor Lomachenko to hold the edge in the forthcoming super-fight.

At the Fights airs Mondays and Fridays from 6-8p ET on the first and only nationally-broadcast combat radio channel, SiriusXM RUSH 93.

The show is hosted by former New York State athletic commissioner Randy Gordon and former #1-ranked Heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney.